Heart Bound
by Voice of Opinion
Summary: Brissa is a young girl living in Traverse Town. When Sora arrives at Traverse Town, she gets mixed up in his quest to find his friends Riku and Kairi. With Donald and Goofy, they travel the different worlds in search of his lost friends.
1. Introduction

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, or any of the Final Fantasy characters.

**Author's Note:** This is an already completed story I've written in the past that can be found on Quizilla. On the contrary, I wrote it YEARS ago, and the writing in it is downright dreadful. I'm rewriting the whole thing, but keeping the same basic storyline, and uploading it to here. If you recognize it, say hi to me! :]

_My name…? My name is… Brissa, and this… This is my story._

"Dad… have you ever wondered if a conscience is more than just a little voice that tells you the difference between right and wrong?"

"Brissa I never wonder about a conscience one way or another. It's a stupid idea, we can think for ourselves."

"But dad… I think…"

"Get out of bed Brissa, I need your help around the shop."

I nodded and watched my father descend the staircase in the corner of my bedroom. That ladder led to the shop below. We didn't have much of a home, really… Just a small business with our beds stacked on the top floor.

It was annoying… Knowing my father didn't care to hear about my worries. In fact, I'm just slightly worried there's something wrong with my mind. Is it normal to be able to communicate with people within your head? I sure didn't think so, yet I'd been able to ever since we moved to Traverse Town.

Maybe it was this place, Traverse Town… But it wasn't that special, just a place for refugees. We'd lost our home a while back… I'd been living in Traverse Town for several years. In all that time, I hadn't been able to figure out what this little voice in my head was. It seemed too real to be a conscience, but in the same breath, I could never remember his name or what he looked like.

I just knew that he… Yes, he…. Was _real_… He'd always been there for me during my difficult times, and I had always been there for him. Well, not _always_… but ever since Traverse Town. I never told anyone because I knew they'd just say I was traumatized by what happened when I was a child.

When I got up from bed I was struck with a sudden headache that practically forced me to fall over. My friend was in pain, and I could feel it… Everything he was feeling was coursing through my very body. I called out for help as the pain doubled… But it was in vain, for I felt myself faint as my friend did too.

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"Briss? Brissa?" I heard my dad say softly as I began to regain consciousness. "I'm fine dad," I responded hesitantly as I sat up. _How did I get down here?_ I thought to myself as I surveyed the shop room which was approximately two stories down from my bedroom: the third story of the building.

"Are you sure? I mean you just fell from the top floor to the bottom one! You could have died kiddo," my father said to me as he checked for bruises around my head. "Mmm, maybe I should just go lie down dad," I responded and stood up, pushing my father away from me.

"Right, you go do that. Take it easy, I'll handle the shop for today," he reassured me. I nodded, and solemnly climbed up the ladder to the second story where the moogles were, and followed the next ladder up to my room where I could dress for the day.

I studied myself in my body-length mirror. According to my father, Cid, I looked an awful lot like my mother, but I had his personality. My hair part was on the right side, so my bangs curved to the left where'd I brush them out of my face and sometimes tuck them behind my ear. I've never let my hair get any longer than my mid-back, which is where it hung currently. I was happy my hair was naturally straight.

My emerald eyes complimented my hair color correctly. People argue whether I'm a dirty blonde, or a brunette with blonde streaks. I think I look more like a light haired brunette than a dirty blonde.

I was also rather short for my age… Apparently I got that from my mother as well.

I couldn't remember my mother, and my father never talked about her. I assumed she'd died before I was old enough to comprehend the fact I had parents, but I'd never been directly told she was dead. Every time I asked him about her he'd ignore me or quickly change the subject.

The farthest my memory took me was when I was a little girl, but even those memories were quite fuzzy. I know I lived in a castle with my father, Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, and Ansem. I also had this vague memory of another girl being there, but everyone always told me that I must have had an imaginary friend.

My father built gummi ships back then, which he used to carry myself, Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith away when our home was overrun with heartless. He flew us to Traverse Town, which was inhabited by very few people then. I hadn't seen Ansem since... And the 'imaginary friend', well, she disappeared before then.

After reliving my past and examining my features I decided it was best to get ready. From within my closet I removed a sleeveless black top and my black flats. From my dresser I retrieved a pair of light blue shorts and some black fingerless gloves that ran up to just below my elbows. I completed the outfit with my good luck charm. My good luck charm was a golden chain with a golden heart that hung on it. My father had given it to me, and I always wore it… I felt like it'd keep me safe.

In order to avoid my father, I climbed down to the second floor where the Moogles were. I exited out the back way from that room, to the back end of the shop which opened up to an uninhabited store and the door to the second district. I turned left and hopped off a small ledge to a lower level of Traverse Town. The ledge overlooked a small alleyway that ran alongside my father's accessory shop.

I gasped when I saw a boy about my age passed out in the alleyway, against the wall of the shop. I ran over to him to see if he was okay…


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Final Fantasy, or any of its characters.

"Hey kid, wake up!" I shouted at the boy collapsed in the alleyway on the side of my father's shop. I kneeled down next to him and shook him lightly by the shoulder and ordered him to wake up again. From somewhere nearby I heard an unfamiliar voice command "come on, Pluto!" I ignored the mysterious voice and continued to try to stir the boy from his slumber.

He had a peculiar appearance… His feet were huge, and his shoes were yellow. He looked about my age; fourteen. His brunette hair was spiked upwards on all ends. His outfit was a red color, and he wore a white vest that remained unzipped about him. The most peculiar thing about him was his choice of weapon: a silver key the size and length of the average sword.

"Nnnhh…" the boy groaned as he began to awake. "Hey kid, you okay?" I asked more quietly and stepped back to give him some room, but stayed crouched to be at eye level with him.

"I… where am I?" he asked as his eyes focused and adjusted to the scenery. "You're new here aren't-cha?" I queried. He nodded in response and rubbed the back of his head where a new bruise was most likely forming. "Come on, I'll help you up," I offered and stood up. I extended my arm in offering to help him stand up. He hesitated a moment, then took my hand and I pulled him up. "Follow me," I ordered.

I walked out of the alleyway to the main portion of the first district of Traverse Town. "Wow! I'm in another world!" the boy exclaimed. "Yeah… You never have been to different worlds?" I asked with confusion. "No… I didn't know it was possible. What is this place?" he asked and looked over at me with his striking ocean-blue eyes.

"This is Traverse Town," I answered and turned away after a moment of eye contact. "Mostly refugees come here when their planet is destroyed, and they find their way to a new home from here. However, my father and I and a few of our friends live here permanently… You could say we kind of run the place."

"Hey… You wouldn't happen to have seen my friends, would you?" the boy asked. "I haven't been out much today; if anyone had seen them it'd have been my father. I'll take you to him," I said and walked to the entrance of the shop. The new boy followed.

"Dad," I said, announcing our entrance to my father. "Brissa, I thought you were in bed?" he inquired. "Well, this boy was passed out outside the shop, I thought he may have been injured," I quickly lied. "You're new here, huh?" my dad asked the boy.

"Yeah, I just got here I guess. My name is Sora," the boy, Sora, responded, introducing himself.

"I'm Cid, and this is my daughter Brissa. Is there anything we can do to help ya out?" my father asked as he grabbed one of his shop items and worked on polishing it.

"Yeah, there is. Cid, Brissa, it seems I'm separated from my friends who were with me when my home was destroyed. Their names are Riku and Kairi. Riku is a little older and taller than me, and Kairi is same age and height. Riku has blue hair, blue eyes, and Kairi has reddish-brown hair and blue eyes. Have either of you run into them?" he asked eagerly.

"Can't say that I have… You, Briss?" my dad asked impatiently. "Nope…" I responded regrettably.

"Well, there's always the possibility of bumping into them here. Brissa why don't you give this young fella' a grand tour of the place? Just be on your guard in the hostile districts. Take a few weapons from the shop, see what you can find," my father said. "Roger that," I said with a joking salute directed to him.

I hand selected a sword that had a weight that left me plenty of room for moving around, but strong enough so that I could deal heavy blows. I wrapped its sheath around my back and placed the sword in its safety guard, and then picked my next choice of weapon. The next I picked were twin daggers, useful for agile moves and for throwing to enemies at a distance. The sheaths for those I hooked to the hips of my shorts, and put the daggers away as well.

Finally, I tucked a pistol into my back pocked for safe keeping, to be used in times of need.

"Can't be too careful," I winked at Sora, and then walked out the door. He cautiously followed.

"Well kiddo---"

"My name is Sora, please, get it right," he said bitterly. "Right, Sora… Let's start with the second district," I suggested. He shrugged to indicate he didn't care either way. I nodded, and walked around the back of the shop to approach the giant doors that led out to the second district. I took a deep breath and prepared myself for the dangers that lay on the other side. I then opened the doors.

The second district was completely bare. No one lived in the second or third district because it's the place that was most overrun with heartless. However, not even heartless seemed to be in the second district. I shivered as a light breeze flew by and lifted my some of my hair.

"This place is so creepy," Sora commented. I nodded in response and took a step forward. Then, a man who'd I'd seen in Traverse Town before ran up to us, looking distraught and panicked. "They're coming! Go back!" he cried out to us as he got closer. He tripped on his own feet, and fell to the ground in front of us. Panting, he rolled over onto his back and cried in terror as an invisible something took his life right before our eyes. A clear red heart floated from the dead man's body and flew up into the sky and vanished from sight. Sora and I turned our attention from the heart back to the body before, and I gasped and stepped back as his body disappeared. In his place was a shadow heartless clad in armor.

"Those creatures… They're the ones who destroyed my island… they're the reason I'm in this place without my friends!" Sora shouted as the heartless disappeared.

"That's what heartless do, Sora. They devour hearts, and the hearts of worlds. They did that to my home, too, Sora," I said, and pulled my sword out from the sheath on my back. "We must be cautious," I told him. He summoned, yes… summoned… his keyblade as well and followed me as I patrolled down the right path of the upper floor of the district.

"Know what, that hotel looks more like someplace I'd find my friends, I'm going to investigate there. You can keep searching this area. Besides, we'll cover more area that way," Sora said, clearly impatient. "Sure… okay, just watch your back," I warned him.

"Yeah, yeah…" he sighed, and ran off towards the hotel and disappeared behind its doors.

"Impatient kid," I muttered to myself and slowly paced along the right path, drawing invisible pictures into the ground with the tip of my sword as I did so.

The upper level of the district went down a staircase on the right side to lead out the main courtyard of the area, where several locations could be accessed from that point. At the base of the wall next to the staircase was a water fountain, and on the wall next to that was a door leading to the main alley of Traverse Town. The alleyway could also be accessed from the hotel where Sora was.

I walked out to the main courtyard and look up at the nighttime sky and shivered. When I looked back down I saw an unfamiliar figure in the distance, standing at the entrance to the alleyway that led down to the Dalmatian House (an entirely abandoned house aside some Dalmatian parents who'd lost their puppies).

"Hey!" I yelled out and waved at the figure. I began to walk towards the person, while still waving. At a closer look I could see they were male, and had a light hair color. The man hesitated as I began to walk towards him. "Wait, don't do!" I shouted as he turned and ran down the corridor. I ran after him.

When I turned down the corridor I was disappointed to see it was completely empty aside a scrunched piece of paper rolling about from side to side. I cautiously walked to the end of the corridor and put a hand on the cold stone wall at the end and look up at the sky again. I jumped as the door to my left opened.

"Ahh, Sora, there you are. You scared me," I laughed and let out a relieved exhale. "You have any luck?" he asked after a responsive smile to my fright. "Actually I saw someone run down here, but maybe it was my imagination because the only place they could have gone was through this door, and you clearly didn't see them," I explained. "Nope, no luck… Maybe we should go see if your dad has found anyone yet," Sora suggested. I nodded, and guided him back to the first district.

Sora and I walked right back into my father's shop where my father was lazily lounging upon the couches that he had there. "Any luck?" my father questioned when the doors behind us shut.

"I'm afraid not," I responded and gave Sora an apologetic look.

"Well, keep lookin'. They're bound to be 'round here somewhere," my father said.

"Maybe Leon would know?" I suggested. "Now that's a smart idea. If anyone'd know where his friends were it'd be Leon," my father responded.

"Alright, Sora, let's go find Leon I know where to find him," I said and turned around, only to find that Sora had already left. I shot my father a sarcastic 'thanks for telling me he left' kind of look, and ran out the doors as well.

The first district was entirely empty, aside two figures standing over Sora, who'd been momentarily knocked out. "Leon!" I shouted angrily and ran over to him and Yuffie.

"Hey calm down Briss, don't do anything rash," Yuffie said, taking a step in front of Leon to guard him. She knew I'd slap him across the face if I'd have the chance. "Alright, then give me a real good explanation for knocking out a new person! Doesn't seem like a very nice greeting, if you ask me," I demanded while kneeling down next to Sora to check how bad the blow to his head was.

"We're taking him to the hotel. Everything will be explained there, but we need some privacy," Yuffie explained.

I watched as Leon picked up Sora and flung him over one shoulder; Sora's keyblade disappeared into thin air. I glared up at him for a moment, and then stood up without taking my eyes off of him. He was a whole head and a half taller than me, but he'd never been able to intimidate me; even with his gun-sword.

He said nothing, and began to walk off towards the second district. Yuffie followed him, and motioned for me to do the same. I stayed a few steps behind them, but followed them nonetheless. In the second district Leon took the path to the left and entered the vacant hotel room and brought Sora into one of the most secluded rooms inside it. He placed Sora on the only available bed, and then leaned against a wall on the opposite side of the room while he waited for Sora to awaken.

Yuffie walked over to Sora, and I shut the door into the room behind me since I was the last one to enter. I leaned next to Leon, and watched as Yuffie tried to wake up Sora.

"Hey kiddo, you okay?" Yuffie questioned when Sora groaned to indicate he was waking up. "I… think so…" he said and rubbed the back of his head, feeling for any sore bruising. "Those creatures that attacked you were after the keyblade. It's how they were tracking you," Yuffie explained to him, and stood up straight to give Sora and full view of the room he was in.

"The… keyblade?" Sora questioned as he sat up straight. "Yeah, sorry about knocking you out. That keyblade needed to go away to shake off the heartless," Yuffie explained.

"Brissa, did you know they were going to do this?" Sora asked me. I shook my head in a responsive 'no'.

"Listen, we did it for your own good. We were trying to conceal your heart from them, but it's not going to work for long. Sora… You are the chosen one," Leon explained.

"Alright, enough nonsense you guys. Explain in detail," I demanded, and sat down next to the befuddled Sora. "Alright… You both know there are other worlds, correct?" Yuffie assumed. Sora and I nodded in response.

"Well, they've all been secret, because they've never been connected. The heartless changed everything," Yuffie explained, and turned away from us to recall a most fatal evening.

"The heartless?" Sora asked. "Yeah, they're the shadow creatures that attacked that man in the district," I reminded him.

"The heartless are attracted the darkness in people's hearts, and there is darkness in every heart," Leon commented quietly. "Have you heard of Ansem?" Yuffie questioned Sora. I knew Ansem, but I couldn't quite remember him. I was young when he was apparent.

Sora shook his head to indicate he'd never heard of Ansem. "He studied the heartless, and he wrote his findings in a detailed report. Unfortunately, we can't read it because its pages are scattered everywhere. There are just too many worlds, and they've fallen into them all," Yuffie explained in a worried tone.

I had heard of the report, but I'd never read it. I most certainly hadn't heard about it being torn apart and scattered amongst the many different worlds. I wondered how they'd come to find that out.

"This is the key, then?" Sora asked, summoning his keyblade to examine it. "The heartless fear the keyblade, and they'll keep chasing you because of it, no matter what. The keyblade chose you, Sora, so you'll have to live with it," Leon said solemnly.

"How could this happen… Wait a second!" Sora shouted and stood up from the bed so suddenly that I jumped in surprise. "What happened to my home? My island? Riku and Kairi?" Sora demanded with an utmost look of devastation on his face.

Leon and Yuffie gave Sora worried looks. Yuffie bit her lip and Leon sighed. No one had an answer for him, because no one knew what had happened.

"Well I'm going to get it all back," Sora declared with fierce determination.

"It's not the easiest thing to achieve, Sora. You've got to be ready, and you've got to be prepared," Leon warned him. "I'm ready for anything!" Sora assured him.

"Leon!" Yuffie cried suddenly and pointed to the middle of the room. I gasped as I recognized the familiar shadowy shape of a heartless. Leon grabbed his weapon and cut through the creature in one swift stroke, and commanded that Yuffie run and Sora follow him. Yuffie ran into the hotel room beside the one we were in, and Sora followed Leon out the back window that would lead them to the main Alleyway of Traverse Town. I pondered what to do for a moment, and then decided I'd feel safer with Leon. I hopped over the railing of the window and landed safely on the ground below, right next to Sora.

To my disbelief Leon was already gone.

"Hey Brissa," Sora said with a forced half-smile. "Where'd Leon go?" I questioned with a panicked tone to my voice, and withdrew the sword on my back as some heartless appeared.

"He told me to find the leader and he just took off," Sora explained, and summoned his keyblade. We cut through some of the small heartless that charged at us and I began to run back towards the door that would take us to the second district. Sora hesitantly followed. "We'd better find my father and grab some provisions if Leon wants you to challenge a bigger heartless," I explained to him, and opened the door that led to the second district.

I parried the attack of an unexpected heartless that charged at me when I entered the district. Sora fought the heartless that were coming at our flank while I cleared a path up the stairs and back to the door of the first district.

As we ran through the door I eyed Leon and ran over to him. "I've already talked to your father," Leon said, and protruded several potions that would be useful in healing wounds. I took them from his extended hand, but then was struck with a searing headache. I could feel myself stumble to the ground as my vision became blurred and my eardrums were filled with a sudden cry. I could feel Sora kneeling down next to me, and I forced myself to command him to go on without me. He took the potions from my hand, and ran off.

As he ran off, my mind entered its telepathic state where I could see my anonymous companion running in circles. It seemed like he was trapped, and he was desperately crying out for help.

"I'm here! What's wrong?" I yelled out to him, and began to run towards him.

I still didn't know how it was possible that there was a whole different place inside my mind that only he and I could see. It was like a grey place, where there was no sunlight, yet it wasn't entirely dark either. Yet, I could never tell what he actually looked like, and I could never know his name. He was just… there, and he was there now, and I knew I needed to help him.

"Help me!" he cried out and grabbed my wrist when I got close to him. "Calm down, what happened?" I asked and tried to tug my wrist free of his grasp. He took a deep breath and knelt down on one hand and knee and covered his face with his other hand. It looked like he was crying, but I was almost positive he wasn't.

"They almost got me… They almost got me…" he said repeatedly. I tried to kneel down next to him, but then I noticed that he was getting further and further away. I reached one hand out to try and reach him, but found that he really was too far away. I felt someone grasping onto my wrist, but I couldn't see them.

I was suddenly awake and out of my telepathic state of mind. I gasped and looked up into Leon's face. He had pulled me out of my trance, and was telling me something but everything was still a blur and I couldn't hear him. I placed my hands over my temples and tried to focus.

"Brissa," he spoke loudly when my ears regained sound. "Leon, I…" I stammered, but he interrupted me. "Sora has defeated the leader. Come on," he instructed. I stood up, and followed him to a door in the first district that had always been locked up until now. I wondered how it had been unlocked.

The door led to the third district, where I'd never been before. It was one large courtyard that branched out into two or three different corridors. I assume one door led to the second district, but I decided that taking apart the visual blueprint of the area wasn't the current priority. I saw Yuffie and Aerith talking with Sora and two other figures I didn't recognize. Leon and I joined them.

"Glad you're okay Sora," I said with a weak smile. "Yeah, I wouldn't have got far without their help," Sora responded and motioned to the people next to him.

In fact, they were anything but human. They wore human clothing, but looked more like talking animals. The shorter one looked like a duck that stood up straight like a human, and the taller one looked more like a combination of a dog and a human.

"We've decided you can come with us," the two of them told Sora after a moment of whispering.

"Sure, I'll go with you guys. Maybe I'll find Riku and Kairi," Sora said hopefully. They two friends gave him a reassuring look, and introduced themselves.

"I'm Donald Duck," the shorter one said. "My name is Goofy," the taller one followed. "I'm Sora," Sora said with a grin.

"Go with them," Leon whispered to me. "Are you insane?" I responded. "Brissa, their mission may have a lot to do with your past, and you know a lot more about heartless and fighting than they do. You'd be an asset to them, and I'm sure you don't want to stay cooped up here forever," Leon hushed and gave me a smile. It had been a while since I'd seen him give a real smile.

"Alright, can I go with?" I interrupted them. "Of course!" Sora said happily before Donald or Goofy could object. "I'm Brissa," I introduced myself to the members who didn't already know me.

"We'd better get going," Donald said bitterly, and together he and Goofy walked back through the door into the first district. Sora, Leon, Yuffie, Aerith and I followed them.

In the first district we all said our goodbyes. Leon, Yuffie, and Aerith provided some money and a few health potions for us to get us up off our feet and to make sure we were a little more prepared. Goofy and Donald gave Sora and I a glowing red gem that, when attached to our weapons, would give us the ability to learn magic spells. Donald was a wizard, and promised to instruct us in the art of magic. Currently, the gem beheld the ability to cast fire spells.

Finally, just as we were about to depart, my father rushed out of his shop and gave me a hug. "Dad, what…?"

"Leon told me you were leaving. I'm proud of you," he said and released the hug. "Thanks dad," I said and gave him and awkward smile. "Take these," he said, and grasped my hand and had me open it so he could place two charms into my hand.

They were golden chains with golden charms on the end. In fact, they were identical to the necklace I wore around my neck. "They were um… They were mine and your mother's. It's so you'll always have us with you," he explained uneasily. I almost didn't believe him, but thanked him anyways and stuffed the necklaces into the pocked of my shorts.

My father said goodbye, and walked back to his shop where he belonged.

"We're taking our gummi ship," Donald explained, and guided us out the main door of Traverse Town. I'd only ever used that door once, which was when we first arrived at Traverse Town many years ago.

"Gummi ship, huh? I haven't been on one of those in so many years," I grinned.

Donald, Goofy, and Sora said nothing. I followed them out the door, in which on the other side stood a fancy-looking gummi ship that was prepared to take us to our next destination.


	3. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Final Fantasy, nor any of their characters. Thank you.

Enjoy.

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"We're headed towards that star," Donald said, and pointed to a single gleaming speck far in the distance. I squinted in an attempt to see it better, and when I failed to spot it Donald pointed it out for me on a radar that was installed upon the Gummi Ship.

"Sounds excellent," I said, more than excited to get away from Traverse Town and go to somewhere new.

I sat down on a cushioned seat in the stern of the Gummi Ship, and thought of how to spend my time while Donald and Goofy directed the ship to a new destination. Sora was sitting down nearby me as well, but he and I exchanged no conversation.

"Have you always lived in Traverse Town?" Sora asked suddenly, breaking the silence that had existed for a number of minutes. I looked at him through the strands of hair that had fallen in my face, and pondered the best way to answer his question. I brushed the hair from my face and sat up straight in my seat.

"No," I stated simply, not sure if he wanted full detail about my past or not. "Where did you live before?" he pondered aloud curiously, and I sighed, since I hardly remembered my past.

"I'm not really sure. I couldn't tell you the name, nor what it looked like... I just remember living there with my father, Leon, Yuffie, Aerith, and Ansem. One day, the heartless attacked. There was a powerful storm, and it was crazy trying to get us all out of there alive. We managed to escape before the heartless devoured it, save for Ansem... Although we have a hunch that Ansem was the cause," I explained, and hoped he had paid enough attention to Leon and Yuffie to recognize the name 'Ansem'.

"That's insanely scary... How old were you?" he questioned, and I noticed he had goose bumps. I guess he scared easily.

"I was very, very young," I replied quietly, and chuckled at his exasperated look. He frowned at my chuckle, and sat back in his seat.

"The heartless... I guess they came to my island too. I didn't know that's what they were at the time but... Now I know, and they must've taken Riku and Kairi," he said soberly, his eyes not moving away from the floor.

"How do you know they've been taken? You didn't actually see them being stolen away, did you?" I asked in an attempt to cheer him up. "I don't know, maybe because Riku was swallowed by a neverending pool of darkness? And I don't even know what was wrong with Kairi! She just acted so... strange..." he ranted, and then calmly ended his rant and went back into quiet contemplation.

I bit my lip, unsure of what to do. I felt bad for him, but almost everyone I'd ever known had had the same experience. It almost seemed unfair that he be given the chance to get his life back in order, while everyone else had to sit around and wait for his help. But, I supposed he was doing this for everyone, not just himself.

"I think the heartless manipulated Ansem, and together they took over my home. But even if that did happen, everyoneI knew is alive still. If we survived it, then I'm sure Riku and Kairi did too," I said, and gave him a reassuring half smile.

Sora still looked sad, despite my feeble attempts at cheering him up.I felt awkward, staring at his deep blue eyes that were looking back at me. He seemed so helpless, like he needed something or someone to help keep him from losing his grip. I felt so sympathetic, and couldn't understand why. I'd only just met him, yet I felt like I understood him like I understood my own father, who I'd known for all my life.

Sora suddenly stood up and walked over to me. He leaned over me, and I blushed as his shadow shrouded my whole body. I guess he was taller than me, although we were the same age.

I was slightly surprised when he lifted my necklace and examined it, careful not to tug at it too hard in order to prevent my neck from being uncomfortable. For a long while he stared at it, before finally saying "This is really pretty... Where'd you get it?"

"Erm... From my dad..." I responded awkwardly. With him being so close i could really sense the sadness hidden behind his captivating eyes. Each time our eyes made contact I could feel myself blush. No one came that close to me, save for the people I'd known all my life.

"It's really nice," he said with a smile, and sat down next to me. "Yeah... He gave me these matching ones. They belonged to my mother and my father... It's a family set," I said, and pulled the matching necklaces from my pocket and allowed Sora to look at them.

I studied him as he carefully handled one of the twin necklaces. As I eyed him I got the feeling there was more to him than just being the keyblade master.

"We're approaching our destination point," Donald said, and I was thankful he had interrupted the awkward moment between Sora and I. Sora handed me my necklaces, and I quickly stuffed them back into my pocket. Together, Sora and I moved to the cockpit to getting a better view of the planet we'd be landing on.

"Wow! What kind of place is that?" I pondered as I stared down at a planet that was covered in what appeared to be thick trees. "A place the King most certainly would NOT be. Let's go," Donald said, and moved to turn the ship around.

"No! Don't! Riku and Kairi could be there!" Sora shouted, and grasped for the control handle that Donald was using to steer the ship. As he did this, he stumbled, and hit a button by accident. I screamed as the ship began to spin uncontrollably.

I instantly slipped on the floor, and tried to grasp onto something, anything, to keep myself from being thrust to all corners of the ship. Everyone was shouting and screaming and trying to gain control of the ship. Everything began to turn black, and I lost my hold on consciousness. Before I finally fainted, I fell to another end of the ship. The collision was so powerful that I actually broke through the glass window and fell deep into space, towards the oddly shaped planet...

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My head throbbed, and my clothes were damp. I felt like I'd been bleeding for hours, and I wondered if I was still alive. Despite how drowsy I was, I tried to sit up anyways. Everything was so blurry, and I thought that maybe I was still back in Traverse Town.

As I sat up, I slipped from wherever I was, and landed in ice cold water. I let out a scream of surprise and instantly came to my senses. I was completely surrounded by water and trees. There was a creature in the water, and it sank to the murky depths before I could get a good look at it. I let loose another squeal, and quickly swam to the nearest bank and pulled myself to safety.

I sprawled out on my back and stared up at the blazing sun, and tried to recall exactly what had happened to me. Then I remembered, and realized I was seperated from the group. I groaned out loud and smacked a palm against my forehead, at a complete loss about what to do.

I coughed, and water spluttered all over my face. I sat up and tried to clear my lungs of the rest of the water. When I felt like my throat and chest were pretty clear I examined my surroundings. I spotted a pathway leading through some brush, and decided that was my best bet.

I wearily stood up and slowly made my way to the thicket. I was rather surprised when the pathway led to a clearing in the jungle woods, where a camp was set up. I figured there was more than one person living here, despite that there was only one tent. I tried to muster as much strength and optimism as I could, and trotted over to the tent.

Inside there was one woman all by herself, and I began to wonder if she really was here all by herself.

"Uhm... excuse me," I said, trying to get her attention. She jumped slightly, more than startled to see me entering her tent. "H-hello... Who are you?" she asked cautiously. "My name's Brissa... I was hoping you could tell me exactly where I am..." I said, trying to sound as innocent as possible.

"Ah. My name is Jane, and you're in a jungle. I am here studying gorillas. Why have you come here? And exactly how did you come to be here?" she queried. She had a funny accent that I'd never heard used by anyone before. I went to answer, but was interrupted when someone else entered the tent.

"Tarzan!" Jane exclaimed at the man walking in. Tarzan was a man dressed in nothing aside a loincloth. Even more odd than that was that he walked on the knuckles of his hands and feet. "Oh, who is this?" Jane asked Tarzan, and I surprised, but happy, to see it was Sora.

"Sora!" I exclaimed happily, and ran over to him. "Brissa! You're okay!" he said, and sighed with relief. "This is Jane," I said and motioned to the woman behind us. "Hey, I'm Sora," he said, and waved to her. She smiled politely, and finally seemed to relax.

"Well... I guess you're not related to Tarzan..." Jane said while trying to find any resemblance between Sora and I and the man walking on all fours. "No, definatly not," I said with a small giggle.

"Hmm... Are you here to study the gorillas?" Jane pondered. "I highly doubt that," came the deep voice of another person entering the tent.

He was tall, unshaven, dressed in yellow, and held an old-fashioned gun. He looked prideful and selfish, and was followed by Donald and Goofy. "Donald! Goofy!" Sora and I cheered in unison. Donald and Goofy appeared happy at first, but then Donald was reminded of how it was Sora's fault that we were all in this mess in the first place. He instantly turned away from Sora, and stuck with ignoring him.

"What a bunch of clowns," the tall man said. I frowned, immediatly disliking him. I instinctivly put a hand on the handle of my pistol, feeling safer to have it within my grasp. I was surprised I still had it after my fall from the ship.

"They're not what we need to hunt these gorillas," the man said, and I raised a single eyebrow in slight confusion. Jane had stated they were studying the gorillas...

"Mr. Clayton, we're studying them, not hunting them!"Jane retorted angrily, almost as though she'd read my mind. Peopletend to do that a lot... Perhaps it's because I always think the obvious.

The man, 'Mr. Clayton', exited from the tent. "I'm sorry... Sometimes he gets like that. It's quite unfortunate. Well, I supposed you kids are more than welcome. Make yourselves at home," Jane said with a grin.

"Well, I'm staying," Donald said stubbornly, though I could easily guess that's exactly what Sora wanted. If Donald stayed, then he'd get time to search for Riku and Kairi. I just wondered exactly _why_ Donald was staying.

I felt like my mind was being read once again when Goofy presented something he and Donald had found. "Look what we found," he said, and held open his hand for us to examine exactly what it was they'd uncovered.

"Hey! A Gummi Piece!" I exclaimed, eyeing the little colored cube all over. Donald, Goofy, and Sora exchanged glances, slightly curious as to how _I _knew what gummi blocks looked like, but they didn't ask. I figured that the gummi was significant to the king that Donald and Goofy were looking for.

"We should look around, see what we can find," I suggested. Donald and Goofy agreed, wanting to find their majesty. Soranodded his agreement as well, hoping to find Riku and Kairi.

So, we departed from the tent, and wenton a search through the mysterious and unfamiliar jungle...


	4. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Final Fantasy, nor any of their characters. Thank you.

Enjoy.

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I was a little surprised to find we'd stumbled upon a vicious leopard right outside the tent. It was almost as if it had been waiting for us, like we were it's targeted prey. It glared at us from across the clearing, its fangs bared, menacingly. I gripped the hilt of my sword, waiting for it to attack first.

Quicker than lightning, the leopard leapt over to our group, and instantly swiped at Donald. Donald, who had had no time to react, flew across the area, and passed out instantly when the back of his head struck a crate he'd crashed into. The leopard targeted Goofy right afterwards, and scratched at his side. Goofy let out a cry as his side was ripped open.

I quickly pulled my sword out from behind my back, and watched the leopard, waiting for it to target me, next. It was like I could sense it's very intentions, for I saw it glare at me, wanting to attack me next. I held my sword in front of me, and patiently waited.

Having lost its patience, the beast bounded over to me and attempted to ruin me in whatever way it could. I quickly parried its attack, and when it left itself open to be attacked, I took the opportunity to thrust my sword in its direction. The blow was deep, and strong, and the beast stumbled and fell near Sora.

It struggled to get up, and while it was stunned Sora struck it multiple times with his keyblade. The beast roared with agony, and did its best to retreat from the battle. It dodge Sora's final attack, and ran into the thick bamboo from brush, and did not come back.

Sora then went to go check on Donald, who was coming out of his unconsciousness. I, meanwhile, went to tend to Goofy's wounds. He thanked me as I had him drink a single potion, and watched as his wound shrank and finally disappeared.

"Well, that was fun," I said sarcastically, brushing the dirt off my hands onto my shorts. Sora chuckled, and helped Donald up. "Where exactly should we go?" he asked, looking about.

"Well, I awoke through those bushes there. There's a lagoon of some sort, if you wanna check it out," I suggested, and pointed at the pathway from which I'd traveled upon earlier. "Right," Sora nodded, and led the way.

"Well, there's certainly not a whole lot to see here," Sora sighed as he gazed out at the lagoon. I knew he was right, but I was glad I'd seen the lagoon anyways. It had given me the chance to see that the creatures that inhabited it were hippos. They were funny little beings, whom whose ears wiggled quite often.

"There's a vine here we can climb. Wanna see what's in the treetops?" Goofysuggested, and pointed at a vine that climbed up a wall nearest the group. I shrugged, and wondered how I hadn't notice the thing there before. It was so blatantly obvious, almost as if someone had purposely put it there to taunt us to climb into the trees. I shuddered, and wondered if there was a trap up above us.

Sora, more eager than I, grasped the vine and began to climb it. I guess he had more of a drive to find something than I did. I was just there to tag along and help them out; they were actually looking for someone.

When Sora was far enough off the ground, I began to climb as well. I watched Sora disappear into the treetops, and began to climb faster so I could reach him.

I was surprised to see Tarzan in the treetops. He wasn't so surprised to see us, but the gorillas he was conversing with were. I assume they thought we were their enemy, here to slaughter them all. Donald and Goofy climbed up behind me, and paused to survey the scene.

Tarzan blinked at myself and Sora, and then turned back towards the largest gorilla of the pack, who appeared to be the leader. "Kerchak... They need us!" Tarzan explained, but the leader, Kerchak, would not listen. Without a word or gesture, he turned and paced away from the area. His gorilla companions followed.

Tarzan, looking more than distraught and confused, fled from the area. I had a hard time understanding what exactly was going through his mind.

"Why don't we go follow the gorillas," I suggested merrily, trying to clear up the awkward silence that emitted through the group. "Err, why exactly would we do that?" Sora questioned hesitantly. I shrugged, and followed the gorillas path before the group could protest.

Walking on the treetops was more than interesting, and I secretly wondered how Tarzan had mastered it. At the same time, however, I figured that was slightly obvious, seeing as how he was raised by gorillas.

The path of the gorillas led to a single massive tree trunk that ran high up into the sky. Mounted within the tops of the giant tree was a treehouse. I instantly wondered how it came to be there, since I doubted gorillas could build it, and Jane and Clayton hadn't been in the jungles long enough to build it.

"This is where I ended up when we crashed, this treehouse. I met Tarzan here," Sora explained. I said nothing, unsure of how I could respond to his comment. I wondered where Goofy and Donald had ended up in the fall.

"Hey look, it's Clayton!" I said, spotting the yellow outfit of the threatening man standing at the entrance of the treehouse. "Oh, hey I see him too!" Sora exclaimed, confused as to why Clayton was there. "He's... loading his gun! Come on!" I said, worried, and ran towards Clayton. Donald ran as well, and even bested me in speed.

"What's your problem?" Donald screamed at Clayton when he was close to him. Startled, Clayton fired his gun. I gasped, and ran up beside Donald and Clayton just in time to see a single gorilla fleeing from the scene. "Were you... Were you trying to shoot that poor beast?" I demanded, and placed my hands on my hips.

"No! You're crazy, why would I do a thing like that? No, it was a snake. It slithered past the poor gorilla, and I tried to save that gorilla by shooting it. What else was I supposed to do, just watch it attack the poor thing?" he said hastily, but I saw right through his lies. I'd always been particularly good at spotting a lie.

"Right, right... Come with us back to the tent," I ordered, wanting Jane to hear exactly what had happened. I wanted Clayton to come with because I didn't entirely trust him out here alone with his gun.

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"How DARE you!" Jane shouted, and jabbed a single finger into Clayton's chest. I smirked, thoroughly enjoying Jane's anger. She had completely blown up with fury when we told her about what Clayton had done... Or, failed to do.

Clayton snarled at her, but said nothing. When she was done lecturing, he stormed out of the tent and vanished from the area. "I can't believe he would do such a thing," Jane said, entirely frustrated. Sora, Donald, Goofy and I exchanged awkward glances, unsure of what to say.

Suddenly, a gunshot from outside was heard. Jane gasped, figuring Clayton had shot at a gorilla. "Stay here, Jane," I ordered, knowing that it could be something far more dangerous than gorillas. I followed Sora, Donald, and Goofy outside the tent.

I was not surprised to see that heartless had invaded the area, though they hardly looked like little bug-like shadows. These heartless looked more like possessed monkeys. They were heartless nontheless, however, and we launched an immediate attack. The four of us swept through the group of heartless, leaving none alive.

I looked to the right of us, and saw another pathway leading into a clearing we'd left unexamined. I figured that maybe the heartless had come from there. "Sora, that way, maybe there's more heartless," I said, and ran to the next clearing.

We were almost entirely surrounded by thick, crowded bamboo trees. The clearing hada single stone in its middle, and there wasn't a single heartless in sight. I frowned in confusion, and lowered my sword, wondering where the heartless had gone.

As if on cue, a thundering roar was heard, and Donald was suddenly pounced upon. He let out a cry in surprise (which sounded very much like a screaming quack), and rolled away from the leopard that had attacked us earlier. Donald and Goofy retreated to a corner together, distracting the leopard long enough to give Sora and I the opportunity to strike.

Since Sora was closer, he closed in on the beast and swung his keyblade back and forth at it. Noticing it's attacker, the leopard quickly retreated into the nearby brush. Sora lowered his keyblade, and I lowered my sword. "Is it gone?" I asked warily, searching around the clearing for any sign of the animal.

A crunching of branches and leaves was heard from nearby, and Sora and I readied our weapons again. He put a single finger to his lips, and signaled for me to be quiet. I nodded, and gripped my sword even tighter.

Suddenly, the leopard leapt from the brush right behind me. Before I could even turn around, it pawed at my back, and instantly created a deep gash in my back that tore my shirt open and ran from one shoulder blade down my back to my waist. I screamed in pain and arched my back, feeling the skin pinch as I did so.

Enraged, I turned on the beast and struck it with my sword. It grew angrier, and clawed at my ankle, tearing the skin open and dragging me to the floor. I dropped my sword in the process, and blocked my face with my arms, afraid the creature would give a final blow.

As it pounced, Sora suddenly intervened, and parried the beast. He thrust it as hard as he could, and sent it away from me. Panting, I took the opportunity to whip out my pistol and fire a single shot at the beast. It hit it square in the chest, and the leopard collapsed on the ground, dead.

I attempted to stand, but my weakened ankle instantly gave way. I grew dizzy at the sight of my own blood staining the area around me. Biting his tongue and hissing with sympathy, Sora quickly snagged a potion from Donald and quickly fed it to me. I felt the pain lessen, and saw the wound in my ankle heal slightly, but it wasn't enough.

I stood up again, a little relieved that I could at least maintain standing. Still, however, Sora flung my arm around his neck and helped me limp over to Jane's tent. Donald and Goofy followed, feeling rather sorry for not having helped more. I shrugged off their apologies, letting the incident slide.

"Oh my..." I whispered at the sight of Jane's tent. It was completely trashed, and Jane had disappeared. Sora, more worried about me, sat me down and began to scramble through Jane's things.

Tarzan entered the tent while Sora did this, and explained that Jane was in trouble, and proceeded to explain she was near the treehouse. Taking his comments into consideration, Sora came back over to me with another potion and a spare shirt fit for my size. I gladly drank the potion, and threw the white shirt Sora had stolen over my torn one.

Feeling well enough to fight, I stood up, and allowed Tarzan to lead us to where Jane was. Fighting heartless along the way, Tarzan hastily led us back to the hippos lagoon. He directed us to swim across the lagoon to a bank on the other side. Sora eagerly jumped into the water, and I hesitantly followed. The water stung the wound on my back, and hissed slightly, but took the pain anyways. Goofy and Donald followed behind me.

Tarzan then quickly climbed a vine into the treetops. Sora made sure I was well enough to climb, and I assured him I was. He gave me one final concerned glance before following Tarzan into the treetops. I followed him.

After climbing several more vines, Tarzan led us to a secluded area in the treetops. It was dark because it was completely shrouded by the tops of the trees. Once again, I was not surprised to see heartless in the area. Tarzan explained that Jane was imprisoned in this area, and I quickly spotted her trapped with a gorilla.

Sora, Donald, Goofy, and I began to dispose of the heartless. Yet, for every one we killed, there seemed to be another to take its place. It was a never ending sea of heartless that kept on coming. We were beginning to tire, and could not keep fighting if they didn't stop coming.

"Wait! That plant!" Sora exclaimed suddenly, and pointed at a massive fruit that hung against the tree that rose up through the branches we fought upon. At first I didn't understand what he was trying to point out, but then saw that the fruit was teeming with an aura of darkness. I nodded, and distracted the heartless while he ran to dispose of the evil fruit.

The fruit exploded, and the darkness poured from it and dispersed in the air. When it was gone, the heartless, too, vanished, and the vines trapping Jane and the gorilla loosened and granted them freedom.

I quickly apologized for using Jane's shirt without permission, but she dismissed the issue as though it hardly mattered. I was more surprised when she said I could keep it, and even offerred to sew my ruined shirt.

"Clayton is behind all this," Jane explained. I was exhausted, and still wounded, but knew it was far too developed for us to halt in the middle of it all. If we didn't take out Clayton soon, he'd destroy everything.

So, we ran to find where Clayton was.

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The only area we hadn't searched through yet was an area past the clearing where we'd killed the leopard. So, we decided that was the most reasonable place to search. I drank a third potion as we hurried down there, and the wound in my ankle finally closed up, and I felt less exhausted.

The new area was surrounded by rock walls, and everywhere gorillas hung in nets. I felt sorry for them, but knew that we were going to save them soon. I snarled when I saw Clayton standing in the center of the area, almost as if he were awaiting us. He was also surrounded by more heartless.

Tarzan instantly ran toward Clayton, enraged and desperate to take him out. Yet, it was hasty, and he got himself shot in the arm. That instantly singled him out for the fight.

"Whatever you guys do, don't get shot. Donald and Goofy, take out the heartless. Sora, you and I get Clayton," I said, and pulled my daggers from my hips. They nodded, and we charged.

Clayton aimed for me first, so I guided his bullets around the clearing, trying to keep them from striking anyone aside heartless. I laughed when Clayton actually shot some of his own heartless.

While I guided his bullets around the area, Sora snuck up on him. Sora struck him across the back and then across the head. Furious, Clayton called for more help. The heartless disappeared as the ground began to rumble. I stumbled, and tried to maintain my standing posture.

Clayton jumped up from where he was, and mounted an invisible creature. I gulped, unsure of how to kill something I couldn't see. Clearly I knew where it was, since Clayton sat upon it, but that hardly meant I knew where its weak spot was.

Reverting to basic fighting strategies, I went for a blow to its front. However, when I closed in on it, I was smacked, hard, and thrown across the area. My back collided with a tree, and gasped for air as the wind was knocked out of me. Yet, the creature was distracted, and Sora took the opportunity to strike his opponent.

When my vision cleared, I stood up, and decided to make use of the fire spell I'd been given. From afar, I sent balls of fire flying at Clayton and his monster. After it had been hit several times, the creature lost its ability to conceal its appearance, and its true form became known.

It looked like an oversized lizard, and, like all heartless, had the heartless symbol plastered to its chest. Beams of dangerous energy shot forth from its eyes, but they were easy enough to avoid, for they simply flew in random directions.

The creature kicked up some dirt behind it, and began to charge towards me. I leapt out of the way just in time, dropping my daggers in the process. I turned in time to see the lizard foe slam right into one of the rock walls. Clayton was thrown off balance, and fell from his 'steed'. I quickly picked up my daggers and went to keep Clayton busy while Sora took down the dazed beast.

I hit Clayton across the head with the hilt of one dagger, and then snagged his rifle from him while he was stunned. I turned on the creature, and used the last three bullets to gun it down. I quickly rolled out of the way, and looked behind me just in time to see the creature collapse upon Clayton, smothering him for eternity.

Exhausted, I sprawled out on my back, unwilling to get up. While I regained my energy, Donald, Goofy, and Sora freed the gorillas from their nets. I allowed my head to roll to one side, and saw Tarzan walking up to us. I sat up, and stared at his arm, which was still bleeding from having been shot.

"Are you okay?" I asked worriedly. Tarzan said nothing. I wondered if this was because he simply had nothing to say, or because the gorilla leader, Kerchak, had entered the area. Sora, Donald, and Goofy ran over to Tarzan, Kerchak, and I. Kerchak eyed us for a moment, and then in turn lifted myself and my companions and lightly tossed us onto a ledge that was behind us.

I hadn't even noticed it was there till he'd thrown us up on the ledge. I was shocked to see a gleaming waterfall at the edge of a very blue pool of water. It's color kind of reminded me of Sora, and I looked over at him. He seemed more interested in the cave that was off to our left, so I stood up and stared over at it as well.

Without saying anything, Sora walked off into the cave. I followed, and Goofy, Donald, and even Tarzan followed us as well. I looked behind me, and saw Jane walking with Tarzan, and I wondered how she'd managed to get up here.

The cave was a single hallway that led all the way down to a secluded area that had a single tree that was covered in magnificent white butterflies.

"This place is gorgeous..." I gasped, appreciating the beauty of the area. I smiled when the butterflies flew from the tree, and circled around us. I hand out a single hand and allowed a butterfly to land on one of my fingers. I stared at it happily, and then noticed Sora was looking back at me. I dropped my smile, and looked back at him for a moment. He awkwardly turned away, and examined the tree before him.

"I'm sorry Donald," Sora said without turning around to face his friends. "I'm sorry too," Donald responded, and I was glad they had moved past their silly arguement.

Suddenly, Sora held up his keyblade, and I noticed that there was a keyhole in the center of the tree. I wondered if Sora was going to place his keyblade into the keyhole. I was stunned for a moment as a single beam of light shot from the tip of the keyblade, and drove into the keyhole. The sound of a door locking was heard, and a small item fell from the keyhole.

"A gummi!" Donald exclaimed, and picked up the small gummi ship piece. "It's not the king's though..." Goofy said sadly. I let my hand drop and watched the small insect fly away. "I'm sure you'll find him soon," I reassured them.

They nodded thankfully, and turned to follow Tarzan and Jane as they walked out. Sora moved to follow them, but I stopped him. I was struck with the sudden urge to tell him about my friend, the one I could sense in my mind. I wondered if he'd think I was crazy.

"Wait," I asked, and Sora halted. "What is it?" he asked in response. I fought to find the words I wanted to use, and found I couldn't speak of my telepathic friend at all. "Nothing... It's just nice here," I said dumbly, and blushed. He smiled, and nodded in agreement.

After a few moments of silence, we walked back to Jane's camp, where the Gummi Ship awaited us.

Jane and Tarzan gave their thanks by providing us with a few more potions, and Jane repaired my shirt. I regrettably gave her back her white shirt, having had grown fond of it.

We reluctantly said our goodbyes, and entered the Gummi Ship.

"Where to next?" Sora asked. "That star," Donald said, and pointed at a dot on the radar. He started the engine of the ship, and together we flew off away from the jungle...


	5. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Final Fantasy, nor any of their characters. Thank you.

Enjoy.

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"So what do you think that was about? With the keyhole, and the keyblade, and all that jazz," I pondered aloud during our flight to the next world. I toyed with my pistol as I asked Sora this, but was careful not to fire it off by accident.

"Why you asking me? You probably know more than I do. You even knew what heartless were, and I didn't," he shrugged, and lounged back in his seat. He kept staring at the broken window nearby, as if I was going to suddenly fall through it. I'd already broken the window previously; I'd be more careful next time around.

"Well I'm sure we'll find out sooner or later," I sighed, and put my pistol back in its holster. I followed Sora's gaze to the broken window, and saw a planet nearby, and assumed we were approaching our destination.

"We've reached our destination point, which appears to be a world called Wonderland... Let's get going," Donald said through the Gummi Ship's speakers. I gave Sora a quick smile, and together we got up to go join Donald and Goofy as they departed from the ship.

I was slightly shocked to see there was no floor outside the ship, only what appeared to be a bottomless pit. "Is it safe?" Sora asked hesitantly. "I dunno, let's find out," I said, and shoved Donald forward.

He quacked, and braced himself for immediate death. Yet, death did not await him. Instead of falling to an inevitable doom, he simply began to float down the pit at a slow and comfortable pace. When he relaxed, he looked back up at us and began shouting at me.

"Oh relax. I wouldn't shove you if I thought it'd kill you," I said, rolled my eyes, and jumped in after him. Sora followed me, and Goofy jumped in last. Slowly, we began to descend into the bottomless pit.

Turns out, it wasn't really bottomless. After a few minutes of floating a floor came into view. I would've been relieved, if I wasn't distracted by the fact that floating furniture surrounded us on all sides. Very peculiar, I thought to myself.

Eventually we landed safely in the round room below us. Just when I thought it couldn't get any stranger, a talking white rabbit zipped past us. He held an oversized pocketwatch, and was shouting "I'm late! I'm late!" My companions and I stared dumbfoundedly at the odd creature, and watched it turn a corner and whisk out of sight.

"Sooo... Shall we follow the shouting bunny?" I asked, and looked at Sora. He shrugged, and I sighed, not enjoying my group's indecisiveness. Feeling very much like I had been defaulted as the leader of the group, I ran down the corridor, hoping they'd follow me.

Sure enough, they did, though I realized they didn't have much a choice, seeing as how this passageway was the only passageway. The corridor led right to a doorway (rather several doorways, one after the other...) and we ran through it right into a room where everything was twice as small as us.

We all shouted in surprise as we were instantly cramped in the small room, elbows and knees sticking into one another's sides. "Look, there's the rabbit!" I exclaimed, and tried to shift my arm out of the crammed group so I could point him out. Everyone looked over, and saw the rabbit, who was suddenly very very small, run through a small door that we'd never be able to fit through.

"How did he get so small?" Sora pondered, shoving Donald to one side so he could turn around and better examine the small door. Much to everyone's surprise, the doorknob appeared to have a face, and it talked to us as well. "You're simply too big!" he said unenthusiastically. He yawned, though I couldn't tell if it was out of exhaustion or boredom.

"How can we get that small?" I asked the little door. "Drink from the bottle, over there on the table," he instructed, and suddenly a table popped up in the room, making us far more crammed than before.

"Alright, Goofy, you drink from it first, because you're the closest," I ordered. He nodded, and drank from the little bottle, and he suddenly shrank and disappeared from sight. With one person smaller, it wasn't as stuffed. With more ease, we took turns drinking from the bottle, till we were all as tiny as that rabbit had been.

Now everything was two times larger than us, and it intimidated me. Hesitantly, we approached the talking door, but much to our dismay, he'd fallen asleep, and so we could not enter.

"Well now what do we do?" Donald asked soberly. I pondered for a moment, and looked around the enormous room. Then, I spotted a hole in the wall, and I pointed it out to them. "Let's go that way!"

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We entered a courtyard where the men looked like cards from a deck. They skirted the area, protecting its center, where a young blonde girl in a booth stood before a throne where an overweight queen sat. The card-men didn't look all too threatening, but I wasn't so sure about the giant queen.

"I didn't do it!" the blonde girl said defiantly. "How dare you defy me! I find you guilty as charged!" the queen shouted back in a manly tone. I cringed at the sound of her voice.

"That is so unfair!" the girl retorted, waving her arms about for emphasis. "Hmph! For ultimate defiance, and attempted theft of my heart, I sentance you to the death penalty! Off with her head!!!" the queen screamed, and the card guards began to close in on the girl.

"What? I'm going to go help her!" Sora said, and before anyone could object he ran forward. "She didn't do it!" he shouted firmly to the queen. "Who are you?" the queen said, bewildered. "My name's Sora, and I know who the real culprit is!" he replied.

I sighed and shook my head, knowing it was better we didn't meddle in the affair of other worlds. I knew Donald and Goofy felt the same, but it was too late, for Sora and already gone and got himself involved.

"Is that so? Let me see your proof!" the queen grinned maliciously. "Err..." Sora paused, not having thought of having proof. Since he failed to provide evidence, the queen had the girl, Alice, locked away in a cage, and demanded Sora bring her evidence, or she'd have everyone's heads cut off, including mine.

"Nice going Sora," I muttered when our group reformed after the trial. "Hey, I couldn't stand back and let her kill off an innocent girl. That's hardly fair," Sora argued. "Alright, before you guys get into an arguement... Let's go find that evidence," Donald suggested. Sora and I nodded our agreement, though we weren't too thrilled with one another.

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We exited the courtyard through a different door that we hadn't entered yet. The new door led us to some woods, where heartless began to spawn. I wondered why they were here and not in the courtyard, but was thankful nontheless. If there were heartless, we could use them to gather evidence and prove they were the heart thieves, and not Alice.

I pulled out my daggers, and made a move to kill one. I rolled around behind it, and stabbed it in the back. It shuddered, and I reached over its head and plucked an antenna from it. It writhed in agony, and while it was stunned I placed its lost body piece into my pocket. Then, I circled back around it and thrust a dagger into its chest. It curled up, and ceased to live.

With it dead, I cut off its hand, to use its claw as evidence, along with the antenna. Sora, Donald, and Goofy had killed off their own heartless, and had gathered their own evidence. Confident that we had enough to prove Alice's innocence, we ran back to the courtyard.

"Have you found evidence?" the queen asked when she eyed us from across the courtyard. "Yes your highness," Sora replied respectfully, and set down our three boxes of evidence before her. She eyed them warily, and then had her guards place two of her own boxes down. The boxes were shuffled, and then she ordered Sora to pick a single box, which would determine whom the culprit was.

"That's not fair!" Sora complained. "You don't like how my court system works? Then it's off with your heads!" the queen screamed, enraged. Sora gulped, and quickly picked a box, not wishing to upset the queen further. The box was opened, and out came an image of... me.

I was stunned, and had nothing to say in response. "So you're the culprit? Guards, lock her away!" the queen ordered, and I was instantly grabbed. Before I could relatiate, my weapons were taken from me, and I was thrust behind bars. To keep Alice away from myself and Sora, she was hoisted into the air.

Sora, Donald, and Goofy refused to sit idly. Sora commanded Donald and Goofy to distract the guards while he tried to free myself and Alice. They did so, and the Queen was furious that they'd dare attack her and her guards.

"Sora, get Alice down first. I can take care of myself," I said, grasping the bars of my cage and speaking to him through them. He nodded, and ran to the tower that beheld a crank. If he could break through the tower's defenses, he could pull the crank and lower Alice down to safety.

I examined my prison, trying to find a flaw in its build. Perhaps there was a loose bolt, or a weak bar that I could kick down. I looked up at Alice's cage to see if hers was built like mine. That's when I noticed something was up that wasn't quite right.

There was a man upon the ledge near Alice's cage, and he seemed to be trying to break open her cage. I wondered if he had randomly come to save the day, though I didn't recognize him at all. My hopes disappeared when I saw him pull Alice from her cage and put a bag over her head. I couldn't see the man, for the cage was blocking most of his view.

Suddenly, he and Alice vanished from sight. Puzzled, I continued to stare at the spot. I was startled when the empty cage suddenly fell to the floor. I looked around me, and saw Sora had successfully destroyed the tower, and Donald and Goofy had dazed all the guards. The Queen, terrified that Sora would attack her next, remained silent.

"Sora, the cage, it's..." I began.

"What? Empty?" Sora exclaimed, staring at the empty cage that once held Alice.

I was grateful when Donald and Goofy came to my cage and broke open the bars. They had also regained posession of my weaponds for me, andI gladly placed them where they belonged.

"She's gone? Bring her back to me... Or it's off with all your heads'!" the queen shouted at Sora. "Yeah, yeah, we'll go look for her..." he said, and sighed. "I'd suggest exploring the thicket where we gathered the evidence. We didn't even go further than a few yards in there," I said casually. He shrugged, frustrated and hardly caring where we went. So, I led the way.

I was slightly puzzled to see a chubby, purple cat awaiting us at the edge of the forest. He had a big grin on, like he found something about us humorous. He was rather creepy, but I waited to hear him out anyways.

"The shadows will be here soon. You'll meet them in the upside-down room," he said in an eerie voice. He cackled, and vanished from sight. I shivered, wondering where he could have possibly gone to. After that, I couldn't shake off the feeling like we were being watched, closely.

"How is it there are no heartless here?" Sora wondered aloud as he walked about the forest. "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. It's so strange. That prophetic cat told us we'd find the shadows in the upside down room. Perhaps shadows is metaphorical for heartless?" I suggested, and Sora seemed to agree.

"Well, then lets find that upside-down room!" Goofy said cheerfully.

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"Sora, I found something!" I shouted over to him. He quickly ran over to me, and Donald and Goofy followed him. "What is it?" Donald asked. "This rock, it's blocking a doorway. See?" I said, and pointed at a crevice between rock and wall, to show there was a hidden passageway. "Excellent! Let's move this rock then," Sora said, and began to push against the rock. I ran around and helped him.

After a few moments of forceful pushing, the boulder budged. We halted our pushing when the hole in the wall was wide open and available for access. Eager to solve the mystery of Alice's kidnapping, we rushed through to the other side of the entrance.

We didn't take much interest in the large table covered in teapots and teacups. Instead, we entered the building near the table and its contents. Still, no heartless were there to greet us. It was another room that seemed oversized. In its center were two enormous tables, where two unlit candles sat upon them.

While we stared at those unlit candles,I had the urge to go and light them. I was curious as to what would happen if we did. "Sora, I want to light the candles. I bet something would happen if we did. What else is there to do here, anyways?" I said, and pulled my sword from its sheath. He nodded, and summoned his keyblade.

I climbed up onto one table, and he scrambled up onto the other. Recalling the fire spell Donald had taught us, we set the candles ablaze. Although he was still creepy, I was satisfied when the purple cat with the giant grin appeared. At least my idea had made _something_ happen.

"You're very close shadows will be here soon. They'll await you in the upside-down room," the cat said, and vanished with another eerie chuckle, which bounced off the walls, creating an even more ominous echo.

"What does he mean 'in the upside-down room' ?" Sora asked, and looked between Donald, Goofy, and I. Donald and Goofy shrugged, at a complete loss for words and ideas. I, however, spent a moment considering the cats words. I knew 'shadows' was a metaphor for the heartless, but I couldn't quite figure out what the upside-down room was.

"Maybe we should go try and wake up that doorknob. I bet he'd know something about that cat," Sora said, throwing random suggestions out and about. I thought about the doorknob, and recalled something funny about that room. I remembered seeing objects on the ceiling. It was almost as if I'd turned the room upside-down it'd still be a normal room.

Turned it upside-down...  
"Oh! I've got it! Sora, you're a genius!" I exclaimed suddenly, startling my companions. "I am?" he asked quizically. "Yes, the room with the doorknob IS the upside-down room! Come on, let's go!" I said, and hopped off the table. Sora hesitantly followed, unsure of how I'd managed to figure that out. Together, my group and I ran back to the upside-down room.

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I wasn't surprised to see that the lazy doorknob was still fast asleep. I also wasn't so surprised to see the purple cat waiting for us atop the table in the center of the room. Afterall, he HAD led us all this way...

Using the chair next to the table, we managed to reach the mysterious feline. I was still unable to shake off the unnerving sensation his devilish grin emitted, but I tried my hardest to ignore it.

"The shadows have run off now. Are you prepared for the worst? If not, then too bad!" he said with yet another eerie laugh. Once again, he vanished entirely from sight, yet I took his warning into consideration. I pulled my sword from its holster once again, and waited for heartless to appear. Seeing me with my weapon, Sora, Donald, and Goofy readied their weapon's as well.

Suddenly, a heartless far more taller than each of us combined fell from the ceiling. It's paper-like arms were bent in all places, and it carried two massive sticks for weapons. Before turning to us, it turned to the fireplace in the room, and set his weapons ablaze.

"Sora, keep him busy!" I shouted to him, and he nodded his understanding. I kept out of sight of the creature so that he wouldn't focus his attacks on me. When he eyed Sora, who was taunting it from afar, it charged. Taking the opportunity, I jumped from the table and thrust my sword into its spine with all my might.

It made no sound, but it turned around to exact its revenge on me. Its lanky arms smacked right into me before I could get a decent parry off, and I went flying across the area. My back collided with a wall, but I refused to let that weaken my fighting. I regained my posture, and ran right at the heartless.

Goofy thew his shield up at its chest, and it keeled over for a moment, right as closed in on it. Taking advantage of its weakened state, I thrust my sword through its back, and watched it go out the other end of its thin body. It flailed its arms about in agony, dropping its weapons.

Sora then jumped high into the air, and thrust his keyblade through its head when he came into contact with the creature. Sora's blow had been the final one, sending the creature to where it belonged. It disappeared, and a clear heart took its place, and slowly floated up and away from us.

"What a racket," came the voice of the doorknob. A yawn followed, and we all turned to see he had finally awoken. We approached him to see if he'd finally speak to us. We watched him yawn a second, and Sora spoke, saying only "Huh?"

"What is it Sora?" I asked. "Look!" he pointed at the doorknob as he yawned a third time. I saw the keyhole Sora was pointing at, and saw how it glinted, almost as if it were beckoning us. "The keyblade?" I suggested. He thought for a moment, and then summoned his keyblade.

Sora directed the keyblade at the keyhole like he had back at the jungle. As we had expected, a beam of light shot forth from the keyblade into the keyhole. A familiar clicking of a door locking was heard, and another gummi fell from the hole.

"Another Gummi... We should take this to my father," I said, grasping the gummi block tight within one hand. I sheathed my sword again with the other hand, and turned to my companions. "Why your father?" Sora asked, but before I could respond to him, we were abruptly interrupted.

"The shadows are all gone now," said the purple cat that sat upon the table once again. "Do you know what happened to Alice?" Sora asked the feline, hoping she was safe. "Poor, poor Alice! Kidnapped by the shadows, she is. She's far away now," he said. Sora's forehead creased with frustration as he fought to understand why she was kidnapped.

"Come on, we'll rescue her... After we speak to my father," I reassured him. He looked at me, and after he said nothing I gave him a simple smile. He smiled back then, and nodded. We turned to speak to the mysterious cat, but he had already disappeared.

"Well, let's go set a course for Traverse Town then," Sora said. Donald and Goofy nodded, and together we walked back to the Gummi Ship, and began to fly back to my home.


End file.
